Students on the electoral lists in Nijmegen performed very well in the municipal elections: they generally received more votes than candidates higher up in the list in almost every party. This means that three student-candidates will be receiving a preferential seat; a total of five students might be put on the municipal council.

It seems that students make for very popular municipal council members this year. It was the case for almost all of the seven parties with student candidates that said students received more votes than the other candidates higher up in the list. The only party that didn’t show this trend was SP, where voters did not prefer student candidates over the others.

Student Anouk Stapel (no. 8) received the most votes for the VVD after the first- and second candidates; for the CDA, only the leading candidate received more votes that student Sophie van Lith (no. 4); Students Amber Pater (PvdD), Sophie den Ouden (D66), Jasmijn Kraaijeveld (GL) and Janna Brandwijk (PvdA) received a lot of preferential votes. They received so many, in fact, that they are now eligible for a preferential seat.

New Council Members

Pater, however, will be declining the seat. ‘I am incredibly grateful’, she explains, ‘but I was intentionally put on number six of the list because I don’t have a lot of experience yet. Our number four is much more capable for the position. Of course, I will be putting in effort behind the scenes, and I will make sure that students will be heard.’

Den Ouden (D66) will be taking up a council position. With a total of 738 votes, she leapt from the tenth to the third place on D66’s list. ‘I am very surprised; I expected to gain 150 to 200 votes at most’, she says.

‘Friends shared my social media posts, which gave me greater reach’

Den Ouden mostly campaigned online, via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. ‘Friends shared my social media posts, which gave me greater reach’, she says. ‘That’s how I got invited to study association debates. The election poster in the bus stop at the Heyendaalseweg also might have played a part.’

It is unclear whether Brandwijk (PvdA) will take up her seat; her party was unavailable for comment. Kraaijevelds (GL)’s position is also as yet unclear, because Groenlinks had several candidates with the required number of preferential votes.

Campaign is important

The students’ popularity means that they were very successful in reaching their constituency, according to political analyst Kristof Jacobs. ‘The number of preferential votes somebody receives, has to do with their campaigning, among other things’, he says. ‘Students know where to find other students, both online and offline.’

According to the analyst, research into preferential votes suggests that three factors are important to voters: the candidate’s place on the list, their gender, and the candidate’s ethnicity. ‘Women are more likely to vote for women, and people are more likely to vote for someone with the same ethnic background. And students are more likely to vote for students.’

‘Proportionally, the students’ votes weigh heavier’

There is a third explanation for the students’ high voting results: the relatively low rate of attendance. ‘Voter age usually has a negative impact on the voter turnout. Young people vote less often’, he says. ‘However, research shows a major difference between the lower- and the higher educated. Particularly the latter group is very hard to motivate to vote, especially when it comes to municipal elections. That is why, proportionally, the students’ votes weigh heavier.’

The low voter turnout also affects the electoral quota, which determines who deserves a preferential seat on the municipal council. For instance, Stapel (VVD) and Van Lith (CDA) did receive more votes that the other candidates on their lists, but they did not get enough votes to be able to claim a spot on the council.

Municipal council

Because both Sander van der Goes (number nine for Groenlinks) and Léonie Janssen (number four for D66) were almost guaranteed to get a seat, the addition of Den Ouden means that there will be at least three students on the municipal council. Whether that will be four or five because of Kraaijeveld and Brandwijk, will be decided by the students themselves in the coming weeks.